Amateur Radio Operators Reception - an NAB Tradition

The annual Amateur Radio Operators Reception, more affectionately known as the HAM Reception, is a free-of-charge event at the 2012 NAB Show which is open to all attendees. This year's event will be held in Ballroom B of the Las Vegas Hotel & Casino (formerly the Las Vegas Hilton) on Wednesday, April 18, 2012 from 6 - 8 p.m.

NAB's HAM Reception is a big draw for both amateur radio operators as well as those who have never "pushed-to-talk" nor learned Morse code, with hundreds lining up outside hours before the doors open. Typically over 600 people pack the ballroom, each hoping that they will be the lucky winner of one of the fabulous (and sometimes very expensive) door prizes (over $14,000 worth of prizes in all this year!). Shown in the photos above are perennial host and hostess (and sponsors) Bob and Sarah Heil (at left); the eager crowd (at center) which shows up 2 hours before the event begins to get a good place in line, and at right, John Marino of NAB reading off someone's lucky number! This year the HAM Reception is co-sponsored by Heil Sound Ltd., Broadcast Supply Worldwide, and Turner Engineering.

Everyone attending the HAM Reception is eligible to win a door prize, and is handed a raffle ticket upon entering the ballroom. This year there are over 140 prizes to be handed out which have been generously donated by broadcast equipment manufacturers, engineering consulting firms, the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), and others - many of these prizes are listed below along with who they were donated by (in parentheses, including a link to the donor's Web page). If you are interested in becoming part of this tradition and donating a prize, please contact David Layer at dlayer@nab.org.

Dataworld HAM contact locator map 34" x 44" (BIA/Kelsey)

3CX1500A7/8877 tube (Eimac - 2 of these)

LG Xenon mobile phone (LG)

CCRadio-2 with FM, emergency radio with weather band and 2-meter Ham band (C. Crane Co.)